


Raffle Pockets & Fluffy Things [Drugged Love Confession Fic]

by TeaGirl42



Series: A Little Bit Cliché [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drugged Love Confession, F/M, Fanfic Cliché, Friends to Lovers, High On Prescription Drugs, fanfic tropes, very silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:29:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaGirl42/pseuds/TeaGirl42
Summary: Barba is called to Olivia's Dental Surgery when she has a bad reaction to some pain medication and needs help getting home.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Series: A Little Bit Cliché [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106951
Comments: 23
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

When he heard his cell ringing Barba spent a few moments shuffling through some papers on the desk in his office, before _finally_ finding the thing and answering it distractedly.

"ADA Barba…" He sighed.

"R-rafa?" An unfamiliar voice asked him a little timidly.

Now the call had his undivided attention, only two people in his life ever called him that.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" He asked a little sharply.

"I…" the voice paused and then continued, sounding a little more professional, "My name is Adele, I work in the office of Dr Sandra Hilton and I'm calling with regard to her patient…" another slight pause, "…Ms Olivia Benson?"

Barba arched an eyebrow, "Is Liv okay? She's at the doctor's?"

"The dentist, Mr Barba…and I can assure you that she's absolutely fine. However, Ms Benson had a little dental work done this afternoon and had an unusually severe reaction to the pain medication. It's getting toward the end of our day and Doctor Hilton is not comfortable with allowing Ms Benson to leave on her own."

"So you called _me?"_ Barba asked a little tentatively.

"I…" Adele sighed, "…Dr Hilton said that she talked with Ms Benson when she arrived and she mentioned that her son was having a sleepover with a friend tonight. We have asked her who we should call on her behalf and the only name we could get out of her was yours, she handed me her cell and…well, she just repeated 'Rafa, Rafa, Rafa' and then started counting the cotton balls again."

"She did _what?"_ Barba asked, clearly baffled.

"Ms Benson is rather 'out of it', Mr Barba," she explained.

Barba could hear the obvious humor in the young girl's voice and he frowned.

"Okay, can you send the address to this cell and I'll be there as soon as I can?" Barba asked as he started to pull on his jacket and close up his files.

* * *

He made an excuse to Carmen, jumped into a cab and was across town in a surprisingly short amount of time. He found the surgery empty apart from two young members of staff at the front desk.

"You really close up this early?" Barba asked as he approached.

"Mr Barba?" Doctor Hilton asked as she walked through from one of the consultation rooms.

"Yes," he nodded and reached out to shake her hand.

"My wife is a medical doctor, I schedule Friday evenings so that I can take care of our daughter while she's on call," the doctor explained succinctly. "I'm sorry that we had to call you, I just didn't feel comfortable putting Ms Benson into a cab alone, especially as no-one is at home."

Barba nodded, "No, of course."

"You're a…boyfriend?" The doctor asked.

Barba shook his head. "No, no, a colleague…well, a _friend._ Olivia really asked you to call me?" He enquired.

The doctor looked a little concerned, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr Barba. I think I might have made a potentially awkward assumption."

Barba frowned now. "Awkward?" He asked.

The doctor sighed and glanced toward the ceiling. "You're a _good_ friend?" She finally checked.

He arched an eyebrow. "How is my relationship with Ms Benson relevant to my picking her up? Or for that matter, how is it any of your business?" He asked a little sharply, he was starting to get worried now.

"Rafa!" Olivia said with the joy of a five-year-old who had just been presented with a pony. "Rafa! Rafa! You came ta vis-it! Rafa! Look at all these fluffy things! White and fluffy, and the nice doctor said I could take them _all_ home!" She peered at the cotton balls in her hands. "I counted 22! All fluffy! Rafa, can you help me take them home?!"

She looked up at him with pleading eyes and Barba gaped at the doctor. _"Seriously?_ What the hell have you given her?!"

Olivia gasped, then dropped all of her new friends to the floor and covered her mouth in shock. "Rafa! You said a bad word!" She looked at him sharply, then unbalanced a little and had to lean against the wall. "Is Noah here? You can't say bad words if Noah is here!" She suddenly looked at the floor with an expression of horror and for a second Barba was terrified that she might cry. "Rafa! I dropped all my fluffy things!"

The two girls on reception burst out laughing and Barba shot them a death glare.

"It seems Ms Benson has had a reaction to the drugs," the doctor explained calmly then followed Barba's horrified gaze to find Olivia edging down the wall to her knees before carefully and thoroughly beginning to collect the cotton balls. "You can see why we needed to call someone…"

Barba shot her a look that screamed _'No shit?!'_ , then stepped cautiously toward Olivia.

"Liv, you ready to go home?" Barba asked and crouched down a little in front of her.

Olivia stared at her collection of cotton balls for a second then at Barba. "I can bring these home?" She asked solemnly.

Barba's mouth quirked up in amusement. "Sure you can, Liv, you can bring whatever you need," he assured.

"You're so nice, Rafa," she told Barba as he held her forearms and carefully helped her up, "…you liked to pretend like you're an asshole, but you're really _so_ nice!"

Barba rolled his eyes and chuckled a little. "So _you're_ allowed to swear?" He asked.

Olivia gasped in surprise. "Who said bad words now?" She looked around urgently.

"Shall we go?" Barba patiently entreated her.

"You're so handsome, Raffle," Olivia smiled and then lay her head on his shoulder as he tried to guide her toward the door. "No that's not right...Razzel?" She frowned then thought carefully before coming to a conclusion. "Rafa!" She announced proudly. "He is handsome isn't he, doctor? I told you that he is pretty, didn't I?"

The doctor looked a little concerned now that she knew that they weren't actually a couple. "The pain medication might mean she's a little… _unreserved,"_ she warned Barba.

"You _don't_ think my Raffle is pretty?!" Olivia asked the doctor with indignation, then stumbled and braced herself on Barba's shoulder.

"Of course I do, Ms Benson," she placated her patient and then looked at Barba empathetically, "…you'll be okay? I mean, you can look after her?"

"Raffle is my bestest friend in the whole wide world," Olivia informed the doctor distractedly, as she went about carefully inserting her cotton balls into all of the 'Raffle Pockets' that she could find - there sure seemed like a lot! She pulled out a pocket square, glared at it with frustration and then balanced it on top of Barba's head before refilling the pocket with four cotton balls. She smiled with satisfaction at successfully securing her haul, before looking up at Barba and going slightly cross-eyed. "Ra-fal-el, you wearing a funny hat? I've never seen you in a funny hat before. I like it!"

Barba groaned and then rolled his eyes when Olivia snagged the pocket square from his head and placed it carefully on her own.

The doctor smiled at him and shrugged apologetically.

"Come on, Liv," he said with a soft laugh and slipped his arm through hers, "I think we need to get you home to bed."

Olivia curled close into his side. "Raffle, I thought you'd never ask!" She replied happily.

* * *

Barba walked Olivia carefully along the hallway toward her door.

"You have your keys?" He asked with a weary sigh.

This had been a painful and nearly endless journey. Olivia had spent most of the cab ride with her face against the window giving him a rambling guided tour of New York as though he was a fucking tourist.

Olivia turned and placed her hands on the wall, then spread her legs as though waiting to be searched. Her forehead rested against the surface and then she inclined her head slowly to grin at him.

"Liv, can't you just _give_ me your keys?" Barba asked pleadingly. "Or maybe open the door yourself?"

Her smiled dropped into a frown but she remained in the same position. "Why do you never wanna touch me, Raffle? Am I all that repul-repul-repulsive?" Olivia turned and leaned her shoulder against the wall, her knees buckling a little as though she was suddenly very tired. "You just never wanna touch me…"

Barba frowned sadly then stepped forward, gently resting his palm on her forehead to check that she wasn't too warm. "Olivia, you're not feeling well right now…" he told her soothingly.

Olivia looked up into his eyes, gazing at him a little unnervingly. "Raffle, your eyes are so pretty…" She frowned and then shook her head a little tearfully. "No that's _still_ not right... Rafa! You're my Rafa!" She gifted him a completely unguarded smile. "Rafa, why are you so handsome? You get to be so handsome every single day, yet I still don't get to touch you…how is that fair?" She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. "I think if you're just gonna walk around not letting me touch you, you could at least be less good-looking. Don't you think that would be fairer?"

Barba didn't know what to say, his mouth opened and closed a few times.

"If I'm not allowed to touch your chest, it probably shouldn't look so good under those _sus-_ penders. Your arms shouldn't be so distracting, it's really rude. Your hands, you play with things in your hands too much, Rafa. You shouldn't do that, you know? Not when you're just never-ever-never going to touch me with them." She leaned forward and dropped her face against his shoulder with exhaustion. "You smell so good, as well, it's really mean to smell so good when I'm not allowed to taste you…"

Barba was wondering if it was time to call himself a coroner.

"And talking…" she murmured into the soft weave of his shirt, "…you shouldn't talk all the time…not ifffffffffs…" she hummed and rested more of her weight against him, "…not if I'm never gonna get to kiss your lips."

"Olivia...?" Barba finally attempted speech.

 _"Mmmmm?"_ She murmured and curled against him.

"Y-your keys?" He stuttered.

Olivia groaned and then heavily lifted her arm trying to reach into her pocket.

Barba ended up sighing and carefully reaching into her jacket, getting the keys and opening the door. He walked her through to the couch and helped her to settle down, looking up at the window and noticing that it was already starting to get dark.

Olivia snuggled up on the couch and smiled happily. "My Rafa brought me home to sleep," she muttered contently, "…my Rafa..." She repeated and then her breathing changed as she finally dropped off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When Olivia woke a few hours later her head hurt like hell. No, wait, her _jaw_ hurt like hell!

She moved it experimentally and winced without even opening her eyes.

Had she been punched out?

Her mind shuffled through what she could remember and then started to relax when she recalled going to her dentist appointment and talking to Doctor Hilton about needing a little pain medication. She'd had dental work…but how the hell had she got home?

After gingerly sitting up in her darkened apartment Olivia stood with eyes barely open and shuffled through to her bathroom. Looking through the cabinet she found some painkillers and washed them down with some tapwater from her cupped hand, then flinched when she lightly knocked her jaw.

Olivia walked back through to her kitchen and realised that she felt a little hungry, but couldn't imagine what she could actually face eating. Thank God she had decided to send Noah for a sleepover with Jessie.

As her eyes adjusted to the light her gaze was suddenly pulled toward a quiet sound in her living area.

Olivia double-took, like a character in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, she dropped her jaw and then groaned loudly at the pain - further stirring her surprise guest.

"Livia…?" Barba moaned as he woke and stretched out on the chair he had fallen asleep on.

"Wafa?" Olivia asked with surprise and then licked her lips as she experimented with speech for the first time.

"Why didn't you wake me?" He asked, his voice rough with sleep as he sat up drowsily.

"I didn' know oou were 'ere," Olivia replied with genuine surprise as she reached into a drawer to find a heat-pad that she kept in for minor injuries.

Barba smiled a little at her altered speech...but then he frowned, the painkillers were clearly wearing off and that meant she was having trouble speaking without pain, there was nothing funny about that. "Let me get you something you can take for the pain?" He suggested and stood.

"'Ad some'in," Olivia assured. "Wafa, why are oou 'ere?"

Barba laughed softly, "Well, I guess it's an improvement on Raffle…or _Razzel!"_

Olivia looked baffled.

"Your dentist called and asked me to come pick you up. You had a bad reaction to the painkillers and she didn't want you to try to get home on your own…" he paused, "…although, with the state you were in I'm not even sure that would have been possible, let alone wise."

Olivia frowned, "Day call oou?"

"Don't sound so horrified, Liv," he replied with a good-natured smile, "… _you_ asked them to."

Her eyebrows raised, just how out of it had she been? Her mind tried to work back through brief flashes of memories. Then as he stepped closer her eyes focused on something white in his front pocket, it looked like…a cotton ball?!

**_[Look at all these fluffy things…the nice doctor said I could take them all home!]_ **

Her eyes widened as the vivid yet surreal memory flashed at the front of her mind - that couldn't have been real, could it? She reached out and took hold of the cotton ball between two fingers. Her eyes filled with a horror that only grew when Barba's face broke into a broad grin.

_"Oh, ma Gog!"_ Olivia moaned and then winced at the pain.

Barba hummed, reaching inside the pocket and revealing three more. "I believe you wanted to keep hold of these?" He recalled and placed them into her hands.

Olivia groaned and rolled her eyes as she tossed them all onto the kitchen counter. "Wafa, pwease gon't…" she implored.

He smiled, slipping off his jacket and walking around into the kitchen. "At least let me get you something to eat before I leave you in peace? Maybe some soup? Or some eggs? I could make you a smoothie?"

She didn't respond at first, her eyes suddenly focused on his suspenders, then on his lower arms as he rolled up his sleeves and looked at her expectantly.

**_[Shouldn't look so good under those suspenders…]_ **

**_[Your arms shouldn't be so distracting…]_ **

_Ohhhhh… No. No. No. No. No._

"You know just because you're mouth hurts you still need to eat," he continued as he cracked some eggs into a bowl and started to mix them with a fork, "…especially if you're going to be taking painkillers. You need something in your stomach."

**_[You shouldn't talk all the time, not if I'm never gonna get to kiss your lips…]_ **

_Oh God,_ Olivia thought as her blood ran cold.

_I'm in hell. This is actually hell. This is a living nightmare!_

Barba looked up at Olivia to find her staring at him with an expression of pure horror.

"Liv, are you okay?" He asked with concern and turned to walk toward her. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

She couldn't breathe, couldn't think… _Was it possible that her traitorous brain had allowed her to say these things out loud?_

**_[You get to be so handsome every single day, yet I still don't get to touch you…]_ **

_GOD, Noooooo!_

"Olivia?" Barba asked softly. He reached out to touch her arm and then at the last moment held his hand back. "What's wrong?"

"Pwease 'ell me I didn' say whah I fink I did?" she asked him slowly.

Barba winced a little, realising that she was remembering their conversation in the hallway, he had almost hoped that she would have forgotten all about that.

"Gog, I did, didn' I?" She turned and walked away, muttering quietly to herself.

"Liv, it's fine. You were completely out of it," he assured, "…you had no idea what you were saying."

Olivia actually whined a little, then looked up at the ceiling as though asking for help from a higher power. "We jus gonna pwetend tha' 'eans I didn' 'ean it?" She turned to look at him heatedly, her eyes gleaming with tears. "'Ino 'eri'as, right? How is this differen'?"

Barba smiled at her pitiful attempt to say 'vino veritas', even as his heart began to speed up at the meaning behind her words. "Liv…" he spoke softly.

"Gog, don' 'ry and make this begger, Wafa! Oou jus make this e'en worse!"

He was horrified to see a tear roll down her cheek.

"Dios!" He stepped closer and carefully swiped the tear away with his thumb. "Is this the pain or is it me? Am I upsetting you?"

Olivia laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "No' you, Wafa. Gog, jus so em'garrassed!"

Barba smiled sadly, desperate to make her feel better. "Don't be embarrassed, Liv, you are the most beautiful person I've ever met in my life. Inside _and_ out. The fact that you have looked at me that way...even considered me in that light...I don't even know how to begin processing that."

She peered at him now, her breathing a little short and eyes dilated.

_The drugs?_

"Please don't let this upset you," he continued, "...we all say things we don't really mean when we're out of it. Honestly, just hearing you say it…" he smiled softly, "…I might not be able to fit my head through doorways for a month."

Another tear ran down Olivia's cheek, but this time accompanied by a small smile.

"My gig gas ego?" She teased. Then she added more seriously, "You're _not_ jus sayin' 'hat ta _make_ me feel begger?" The pain was starting to wear off a little now and she was talking slower in order to more clearly pronounce her words.

Barba smiled, "I would never lie to you, Liv, even to make you feel better."

"Wafa…" She licked her bottom lip cautiously and then he was surprised to see her glancing at his mouth. "You…?" She paused.

"I…?" He encouraged her to continue.

"You fink I'm arr'active?" She asked.

He chuckled and shook his head. "More than arr'active," he assured.

Olivia scowled at him a little, although her eyes were still smiling.

"You are beautiful, incandescent…" he continued and then decided to throw himself under the bus, if only to lessen her embarrassment, "…sexy as hell."

The hope in her eyes made Barba feel a little nauseous. God, she was serious. _Very_ serious. So he couldn't allow himself to be anything less than honest in return. "I-I'm in love with you, Livia. I think I have been for years, but I didn't…"

Olivia sucked in a surprised breath and brought her hands up to rest against his chest, almost as though he was the only thing stopping her from falling forward.

Maybe he was.

"Wafa," she sobbed and rested her forehead carefully against his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, although I can understand _why_ that might make you cry," he tried for levity, but was failing - he really just wanted to give them both an out.

To give _her_ an out.

"Ma 'outh 'eally 'urts…" she murmured softly.

"The painkillers will help," he reassured as he tentatively stroked his hand up her back, "…let me heat up that pad?"

_He's just laid his heart on the line and he's still only thinking about my comfort_ , Olivia thought affectionately.

"I 'ean..." she said with a tearful smile as she moved back to look into his eyes, "…I 'eally wanna _kiss_ you," she forced the word 'kiss' out clearly in spite of her pain.

Barba looked shocked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. "This isn't just the drugs?" He proposed cautiously.

Olivia smiled and then winced, "Wafa, I al'ays wanna _kiss y_ ou."

"The way you're flinching every time you say 'kiss', it's making me feel weak…" he blurted out, "…I'm honestly not sure if that's excitement or because I can't bear to see you in so much pain."

She smiled and leaned forward to breathe in close to his neck. "Lil o' both?" She suggested, feeling his concern for her almost flow through her body.

"I want to kiss you as well, Livia," he confirmed needlessly, "…always, always."

Olivia tilted her head in a silent invitation and then gasped when she felt his lips gently brush her neck. "Gog…" she whispered and ran her hand tentatively up his side.

_God, his lips felt amazing. Soft. Warm. Tempting. His warm breath over her skin made her shudder._

"This okay?" Barba asked, still sounding like he was waking from a dream. He felt her nod and let out a soft breath as he slowly traced his lips down to her collarbone, nudging aside her shirt a little with his nose and then brushing his lips along her shoulder.

Olivia hummed deep in her chest as they stepped closer and held each other. Then she spoke, carefully annunciating her words through the pain, "I am in love with you, _Rafa."_

Barba closed his eyes and breathed in against the crook of her neck. "You really shouldn't smell this good," he teased softly and she smiled, "…unless I'm allowed to taste you?"

_"Always,"_ she assured.

He held her close for several moments, both of their heads spinning at the sudden shift in their relationship.

"I could get you some food?" He suggested, pulling back to look into her eyes again.

"And stay awhile?" She added.

Barba nodded quickly.

"Then maybe…" she suggested, "...in a while…we could try some gen'le _kissing?"_

Barba smirked, his eyes glowing with humor and love. "We could," he agreed, knowing that he wouldn't kiss her properly tonight, "…but then, if we need to wait a while, I'm sure we can find ways to keep us both entertained."

**_THE END_ **


End file.
